Velvet Friend Has Willy Jak' s Beehive Jiving

by Andy Dodson

Our sleepy, little metropolis rarely attracts quality live rock shows. The local scene these days consists of mostly cover bands or teenage, pop metal bands, with a few exceptions. On Saturday April 27th the gods of rock blessed Cape with a few hours of unabashed, unadulterated, and uncouth rock and roll. Pushy Mother, At the Concert, and Velvet Friend provided the soundtrack for Willy Jak's one-year anniversary party. The evening doubled as a birthday party and a CD release party for Velvet Friend s new independent album entitled Bee Hive Jive . Willy Jak's deserves mad props for taking steps to ensure a good time for the crowd and the bands. First of all, not only did the bands promote the show themselves but Willy Jak's did as well via radio and the newspaper. I realize that it was a special occasion for the bar, but I hope in the future other bars in Cape will follow Willy Jak's example.

The results speak for themselves, by the end of the night the door count exceeded three hundred. I don't think I've seen a crowd that large for a local show in this town, with the exception of City of Roses, in years. Also the house's killer drink specials kept the audience liquored up and in the mood to party. One element in particular impressed me almost as much as the great music and cheap booze: the cover charge or lack there of. Anyone 18 and up wondering the streets of downtown Cape on Saturday could pop into Willy Jak's and enjoy quality local music free of charge. Aspiring local musicians head the example set by Pushy Mother, At the Concert and Velvet Friend, no door charge makes for a larger and more responsive audience. Happy people clap, shout, and drink more. The short comings in the bands sound were made up for by outstanding stage presence. Baranovic lurched and jumped all over the stage. Bassist Schlick sported a hilarious t-shirt four sizes too small that said, I love rock stars in glitter. As a running joke the band fired and rehired new guitarist Gregg three times during the set. The band received an abundance of cheers and guffaws from the crowd in exchange for the antics.

The message was clear: Pushy Mother doesn't take themselves too seriously. A few local acts should take a hint from Pushy Mother and not think so highly of themselves.

The second band, Nashville natives At the Concert, lacked the personality of Pushy Mother. Their two guitarists supplied the band's vocals. Both vocalists struggled with playing and singing at the same time. Their complex riffs and song structure swallowed up most of the harmonies. However, At the Concert's fat, bass grooves and turntable got the audience off their stools and onto the dance floor. At the Concert's psycadellic meets hip hop sound inspired the crowd to shake their moneymaker and set the stage perfectly for closers and featured band Velvet Friend. At the Concert closed their set with two well-played and well-placed covers: Beastie Boy s Sabotage and House of Pain's Jump Around . The crowd reeled from the covers and begged for more. While At the Concert jammed out Jump Around members of Velvet Friend took the stage one by one. By the time the band swapping was complete the audience flooded the dance floor.

From the moment they took the stage, Velvet Friend made it known they were the featured artists. Velvet Friend plays out live as a four piece band, but the writing and creativity originate from Reno and lead singer Randy Reed. This diabolical and desensitized duo provide the soul of all that is Velvet Friend. Reno says, It's truly a duo and friends. What we write as a duo and what our brothers add is what comes out. We take each song as a separate entity. I take what Randy writes and create the sound around it. Randy creates the message and the mood of the song. As a band they are originally from Cape but the two collaborating artists Reno and Reed have since departed to seek stardom in different cities. Reno attends Belmont University in Nashville: Reed, UMKC. Drummer Bryan West still resides in Cape. Over the last three years the band has recorded three albums, each one an evolutionary leap from the previous one. All three records are available on the web at mp3.com. Velvet Friend's sound swells with a variety of influence. With in the music of Velvet Friend you hear the vocal stylings of the late Brad Nowell coupled with the catchy guitar and bass licks of Blues Traveler and the Black Crowes. Through this myriad of musical influence Velvet Friends gleans a sound of its own, unlike anything on our local music scene, or quite frankly anything on mainstream radio. Velvet Friend is a few handshakes away from a record deal.

The set list consisted of originals intertwined with three amazing covers. The covers were not attempts to sound like the original artists, but were unique Velvet Friend versions of the original song. For example they played a hilarious version of Sweet Home Alabama, strictly because this is the heartland and sometimes you just need to, play some Skynyrd man . The band played the tune while Reed threw in his own irreverent lyrics over the top. The crowd ate it up and said "mmm good." In some ways Velvet Friend placated to the audience too much during the set, but how do you ignore a dance floor full of screaming drunks. The highlight of the show was the title track from the new album. On this funky, hip-hop ditty, Reed spins a raunchy yarn about the ultimate buzz kill. More than a few people left with a Velvet Friend song on their lips and the Beehive Jive in their pockets. The band's pop, eclectic, alternative sound inspires listeners heads to bob and their feet to discover the dance floor. By the end of the set the crowd begged for an encore, Velvet Friend obliged. Reed calls Velvet Friend, a new way to think about music and synthesize musical instruments. Before the show Reed said, I'm pretty sure everyone is tired of the crap they hear on the radio. I think everyone is ready for something new and that is Velvet Friend. At the time I found his comment somewhat audacious, which it was. However , the Beehive Jive now infests my stereo.